‘In Defence of the Naughty Child – understanding sensory sensitivity’ by Val Mullally and Tanja Jensen (Coming Soon)

What if naughty children aren’t naughty? If you are concerned about the behaviour of your child, who some may label as ‘defiant’ ‘obstinate’, ‘off on their own track’, or zoned out and ‘away with the fairies’, then you will want to read this book. We now have the science to explain the core issue that often lies underneath these challenging behaviours. This book introduces the sensory smart approach – filling this knowledge gap and giving parents practical insights into what might be going on for the child and how to turn distressing situations into positive, learning opportunities for you and your child.

In Defence of the Naughty Child – Understanding Sensory Sensitivity | Val Mullally | TEDxWexford

This book is beautifully crafted and easy to read and understand, while focusing on an extremely important topic.

Cathy O’Sullivan - Author and Former Director of Midwifery Education with the HSE

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About The Authors

Val Mullally

Val Mullally MA passion is to help parents and educators to create psychologically safe environments for children to thrive, so that every child has the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. She is an international Keynote Speaker, as well as an accredited Coach and Reflective Practice Facilitator. Her first career was in Southern Africa, as a teacher, school principal and an early education trainer. Val’s work has a ‘sensory smart’ approach, focusing on listening to understand and to deepen relationships – integrating insights from emotional intelligence, relationship theory and neuroscience. Val has published several books and online courses. Val has two married sons and three grandchildren. She and her husband live in County Cork, Ireland, in the place where her heart calls home.

Tanja Jensen

Tanja Jensen MSc, currently lives in Denmark and is inspired by the Danish way of parenting. She is the mother of two children who both experience sensory sensitivity and she has walked the path of raising them in a world that has often been overwhelming for them. She has delved deep into the latest research in occupational therapy, child brain development, highly sensitive children and education philosophies. As the founder of a non-profit organisation, Grey Zone Kids, she has found her calling to promoting awareness and understanding of these more sensitive kids and developing optimal environments for them at home and at school. Today, she works in a school and advocates for understanding of children’s sensory needs and neurodiversity. Through her foundation, Grey Zone Kids, Tanja works with change-makers to promote a new pedagogy and education philosophy that encompasses these new understandings.

A heartfelt thanks goes out to the authors of "In Defence of the Naughty Child." This book covers a tremendous amount of well-researched information, giving parents and teachers the opportunity to turn distressing situations into positive, learning exercises. Parents of highly sensitive children deal with challenging (aka "naughty") behaviors daily. The book offers a paradigm shift; a new way of looking at these behaviors which are absolutely natural for a child with a sensitive nervous system. Readers will find many "Aha!" moments and will hear themselves saying, "No wonder my child ...." Understanding the often puzzling behaviors allows parents to empathize and thereby connect with their child in ways that may have seemed out of reach before. I predict parents will feel validated on reading this, and then highly appreciative for the help it provides. I highly recommend it.

This book is beautifully crafted and easy to read and understand, while focusing on an extremely important topic. It will make sense to every parent and encourage them to look beyond their child’s behaviour and see what's really going on. I loved all the examples and the suggested solutions and appropriate words to describe better handling of challenging sensory situations.

If you are a parent struggling with a challenging child and are uncertain how to proceed then look no further. This book is packed with helpful tips and takes a comprehensive tour through the sensory system of the developing brain. (Did it occur to you that your child’s infuriating tendency to ignore the teacher in class may be as a result of their ears processing sound differently so that can’t filter out her words from the background noise? That when they can’t find something that’s right in front of their nose it may not be laziness but that their visual cortex hasn’t matured yet?) This easy and insightful read will provide plenty of moments of revelation. It’s full of compassion and practical advice. A must read for all parents.

The insight I got from "In Defence of the Naughty Child" truly surprised me. As a parent of a child with sensory issues, I thought I understood my daughter through years of interacting with her. Some of the techniques I used to help her were instinctive, some were from close observation and asking her how it felt. This book could have saved me hours and hours of second guessing, of worrying and wondering if I was going mad.